Dung said the Government encouraged foreign investors to join Vietnam’s financial market. Foreign indirect investment in the market has hit nearly US$8 billion and the nation is going to lift foreign ownership limit in listed enterprises and banks in the coming time.

Despite adverse impacts of the global economic turmoil, the Government has managed to maintain macro economic stability and obtain the average gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of around 5.6% over the past three years, Dung said.

Two-way trade between the two nations hit US$25 billion in 2012 and US$17 billion in the Jan-Jul period of 2013. The figure is expected at US$30 billion by the end of this year.

Currently, the U.S. ranks seventh among 100 countries and territories with direct investment in Vietnam.

Concerning the real estate market, Dung said that the global economic crisis has affected this sector. The Government has designed a series of measures, including the restructuring of housing products, administrative reform, provision of preferential credits for homebuyers, and permission for foreigners to own houses in the country, to revive the realty market.

During meetings with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and the U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, Dung also pinned high hope on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and its benefits for TTP countries, saying that the pact will develop comprehensive relations between Vietnam and the U.S.

Dung affirmed Vietnam’s determination to promote negotiations in accordance with the agreement reached between the two sides’ high-ranking officials in 2012, saying that the country is willing to work with the U.S. and other negotiators to hasten the signing of the TPP.

On the sidelines of the General Debate of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, the Prime Minister also met Haitian counterpart Laurent Salvador Lamothe and Moldovan Prime Minister Yuri Lianke. Earlier, he also had a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.